BEAUTIFUL AZORES ISLANDS-SAO MIGUEL/PONTA DELGADO GREETED US TODAY!

Wednesday, October 14, 2026
Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago, Portugal
77F, some clouds and sun, a bit of humidity

 

Sunrise 10.14.2026

Before we arrived in Ponta Delgado

Janie is busy with her blog!

I love writing on the balcony as we overlook the port of Ponta Delgada, the capital of the Azores. We did not schedule a tour here—we had a wonderful tour in 2012, our last visit.  

View from the stateroom balcony

We walked around the city, checking out some historic sites. 

Portas da Cicade -- City Gates/18th century

City Gates-another angle

Bell Tower 

Look at the large "vacuum" the street 

cleaner is using!

Toy Shop

Barbie!

Love the pattern used for the sidewalk

The Azores consist of nine volcanic islands that make up the Portuguese archipelago.  Ponta Delgada is situated on the southern coast of São Miguel Island, the largest and most populous island in the Azores archipelago.  It covers approximately 89.6 square miles. Its economy is driven by tourism, commerce, dairy and agriculture, and sugar refining.

 

The Azores islands together have a population of 236,440. Sao Miguel: 140,000, and Ponta Delgado: 67,000. Sao Miguel has been populated since 1444. Portuguese is the official language.

 

The islands are located about 930 miles west of Lisbon and about 1200 miles southeast of Newfoundland. As mentioned in 2012, I also found out that the U.S. military base in the Azores that uses our Medal of Honor character development program/curriculum is on the island Terceira, which is about 120 miles from São Miguel/30 minutes by airplane (cost $150).

 

We visited the farmers’ market—no matter where we are such markets are a visual treat.  Interesting fact: pineapples are grown in greenhouses! The island stopped growing oranges because a devastating 19^th century insect blight wiped out the island’s massive citrus groves. 

Overview of the Farmers' Market

Pineapples grown in a greenhouse

Beautiful!

This island is home to the oldest and only industrial scale tea plantation. Growing tea became a cornerstone of the island’s culture because of the orange blight. Farmers discovered that the island’s mild Atlantic climate, acidic, volcanic soil, and regular rainfall provided the perfect conditions for Camellia sinensis (tea plant). I thought it was interesting that the local agriculture society hired Chinese tea masters from Macau to teach them the secrets if withering, rolling, and oxidizing the leaves.

 

The best known factory is the Gorreana Tea Factory, and I purchased a small box of teabags. We do not know many people who drink tea.

We did make a stop at an ATM for euros--TK has never had a problem with his EFF FCU ATM card, but this was the first time in  a very long time that my NWSB ATM card worked overseas!  That is a good thing! We do use credit cards for the most part, it always a good idea to have some cash. Every port we are going to is part of the European Union, except Turkey.

As we walked in and out of the city shops, I couldn’t believe how reasonably priced the souvenirs were.  We stopped at Bagga, a coffee shop, for pastry and coffee. We  had a bretzel amendoa, a pretzel like pastry with almond filling, and Napolitana ovo. Plus a STRONG Americano coffee and a cappuccino for TK--$6.41 American dollars!!  The Napolitana ovo is a historic Azores specialty---the islanders are very religious—a couple centuries ago the nuns used egg white to starch their “wimples,” collars, and “gitterns.” So, they had a lot of leftover egg yolks and made a custard for their pastries with them.

Bagga Cafe 

L to R: Bretzel, Capuccino, Napolitano Ovo, American coffee

And that brings me back to the souvenirs—we saw religious souvenirs everywhere, and the only other place we have seen so many is near the Vatican!

 

TK’s Takes:  The first thing he noticed as we docked this morning was all the people swimming near the port area. One of the nearby vendors told me that her 81 year old mother swims there everyday—no sharks, whales, or crocodiles!  He also thinks there should be a class on elevator etiquette on cruise ships.

Swimmers right near a little "cove" by the ship

SEA DAYS WITH NO LAND IN SIGHT! THE ATLANTIC OCEAN ROARED YESTERDAY!

Saturday-Monday, October 10-12, 2026
At Sea, Atlantic Ocean—no land in sight for days
Who knows what the temperature is? But it is sunny!

 

Atlantic Ocean--sea and more sea!

No land in sight--

This is our third day at sea since Bermuda, and at times we have been really hitting the waves.  I don’t want to jinx us, but the rockin’ and rollin’ has not affected us.  

 

Since we have already turned the clock forward three times on the trip [I need to interrupt myself here—TK has changed our “alarm clocks” each time, not me] and tonight another time change, I have no idea what time it is because my Fitbit won’t cooperate and change time. 

 

For me, it is sleeping time, waking time, eating time, and reading time.  Of course I can always check the ship’s time, the TV, and TK. But figuring out the time with my watch requires math.  My phone does not adjust to the time zone either--that would require more energy to figure out, plus we will be moving forward another hour tomorrow night.  Perhaps tonight I will ask TK to teach me how to change the bedside alarm.  B1 and B2, where are you??

 

It does appear that I am getting lazier and lazier as we cross the Atlantic.

 

Today, while asking for a Coke Zero at the pool bar, I counted 13 different kinds of vodka, and 12 kinds of bourbon.  Stay tuned for my next report on rum, whiskey, and rye.

 

I have finished three books so far—Clive Cussler, CJ Box, and James Patterson. 

Very intellectual books I read

We are looking forward to visiting Sao Miguel, an island in the Azores, on Wednesday.  Stay tuned! And thank you for helping us along as we “explore the world!”  Writers aren’t writers without readers! [my writing group disagrees with this statement, but I think there is a truth there!] 

Today is Columbus Day for us,

Thanksgiving for Canada

TK’s Takes: The pizza is great; the desserts are not.

A BERMUDA DAY! AND SAFE ON THE BERMUDA TRIANGLE!

Friday, October 9, 2026
Bermuda (British Overseas Territory)
83^oF, Cloudy, some sun

Thursday's sunrise from our balcony

Bermuda is about 650 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Interestingly, it is not part of the Caribbean. Made up of about 181 islands, it is an archipelago of about 21 square miles. With a population of about 64,000, it has one of the highest population densities in the world due to its small land size

Its economy is heavily driven by international finance (especially insurance and reinsurance) and tourism. The local currency is the Bermudian dollar, which is pegged to the U.S. dollar.  Its climate is subtropical, with mild winters and warm, humid summers. Of course it is vulnerable to Atlantic hurricanes.

We visited Bermuda in 2017 with friends from college in France, Judy P, Cindy and Greg W and their family.  The ship docked at the Royal Naval Dockyard and at that time we visited the Crystal Caves and the Glass Beach full of “sea” glass.

 

What is an archipelago?  An archipelago is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands situated in an ocean, sea, lake, or even a river – I never looked it up before, now I know.

 

Island Princess from the ferry

TK elected to take a ferry to Hamilton, Bermuda, another island in the Bermuda archipelago.  As we walked along the main area of Hamilton, we thought the island was very clean.  After a stop for coffee and a croissant, we walked in and out of upscale shops—clothing, books, art, and so on. 

 

Main waterfront street in Hamilton

TK on the bakery's balcony

Bermuda sign in background

Janie needs photo lessons-cell phone

Hamilton is the capital of Bermuda

This is the Cabinet Building

An exquisite seaside home

Average home price in 

Bermuda?

$1 million to $2.5 million

Ever aware of the ship’s departure time, we returned to the Dockyard area.  The Royal Naval Dockyard in Bermuda was established in 1809 as a strategic British naval base and evolved into a major military, economic, and cultural landmark over more than 150 years.

Shops now-previously

part of the

Royal Navy 

Fountain with anchors

Interesting to me, the Dockyard played a pivotal role in British military operations. In 1814, over 5,000 troops and Royal Marines departed from Bermuda to attack Washington, D.C., and Baltimore during the War of 1812. It was from a British ship that Francis Scott Key witnessed the bombardment of Fort McHenry, inspiring the U.S. national anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.

 

Most of the Dockyard was transferred to the Bermuda Government in the 1950s. Restoration efforts began in the early 1980s under the West End Development Corporation, transforming the Dockyard into a major tourist attraction with museums, shops, and cultural sites. Now it is the most visited tourist site in Bermuda.  

 

By 2 p.m. we were ready to go back to the ship, and TK took a bit of a swim in the pool while I read.

 

TK’s Takes: He is very excited about the 17 (seventeen) time changes we will go through on this cruise.  We both have bedside clocks that he changes.  He said the pool was cold.

TK’s Takes (Thursday, October 8, 2026): Yesterday was a sea day and we went to the Military Veterans Get-Together. Master Chief Bobby Mock (a submarine veteran) organized a very nice session, honoring each branch of service and those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Each veteran gave their name, where they were from, the branch of service, and the years.  TK said this get together was larger than any other he had attended on a cruise (about 80). Most veterans were U.S. Navy. One Merchant Marine and one Australian Army, one woman veteran. 

We have 4 seadays coming up, and even tonight the Internet is sketchy. Don't worry!

Aside to B1--TK asked me today if I could make the 50 days--what did he mean??

FIFTEEN THOUSAND FEET DEEP—ATLANTIC OCEAN

Wednesday, October 7, 2026
At Sea--Aboard the Island Princess, Atlantic Ocean
77⁰ F

Breakfast on the balcony

My Eerie, Pennsylvania t-shirt

 (designed by John Oless)

was a great hit at the

Meet & Greet

We met the son/grandson of the Kimmel Pontiac family--an Academy grad--at the M&G! 

TK in the afternoon-his new TB shirt-

first purchase on the ship!

Note to B1: We needed you counseling Monday!!

A relaxing day!!

ISLAND PRINCESS AND THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, HERE WE COME!

Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Aboard the Island Princess, Atlantic Ocean
85F

TK on our Hilton balcony

The Island Princess is over his right shoulder 

the background--

 If you have already read the long tirade about our luggage caper, and are still awake, I won’t keep you too long.  After boarding the transport to the ship, we arrived at the port terminal about 3 minutes later—I did not realize how close we were!

Boarding took a little longer than usual, but it was quite easy. Everyone must watch a safety video on his/her “device,” then check in at the muster station for our stateroom. The ship does not leave port until everyone has watched the video—Princess knows!

 

Buffet entrance

Buffet dining area

Ship's Forward

Our stateroom is great, and I forgot to take photos before we plopped our stuff (2 wheeled carry-ons and 2 tote carry-ons.

Outdoor Pool

with Movie Under The Starts screen

Indoor Pool

Highlights:

1. We met a couple from Wilkes Barre! We talked a long time—they have cruised to Antarctica and South America, where we have not.
2. A lady told me she met someone who brought 15 pieces of luggage, and that lady was not the only one who did that!  I cannot imagine that!
3. There are a lot of retired military onboard, as well as other veterans. So far, mostly U.S. Navy!
4. There are many veteran cruisers on board—world cruises for 9 months and so on. We are light with only about 67 cruises.
5. The striploin steak I had for dinner was really medium rare, and I was provided with a sharp knife!
6. As I write, all of our luggage has arrived!!! 8 p.m.—the latest we ever got our luggage on a cruise.

 Another day on the high seas! Another adventure!

 TK’s Takes (Monday):  It was a long day and he had 13,000+ steps.

TK’s Takes  (Tuesday):  We went from being too cold to too hot. It seems like we never left the ship--this stateroom is almost a carbon copy of the one we had on the Sapphire Princess. We have a bigger dining room. He saw 3 kids and he bets there are less than 10 aboard.

 

LUGGAGE AND HOW TO USE DUCT TAPE

Tuesday, October 6, 2026
Aboard the Island Princess, Atlantic Ocean
85F

Wasn't this a nice photo of TK's luggage before we

left Erie? Locks, zippers, even!

October 5, 2026/Erie

Last evening after I wrote the blog, there was an interesting, yet frustrating development. First, I noticed there was no longer a lock on one of my checked luggage bags, but everything seemed to be in place.  TK checked his bags—no locks, no zipper pulls on either of his bags. That meant when he went to open the bags, the whole lid opened, never to be sealed again. 

Here is where we were lucky—everything in both his bags seemed to be intact. Things could have been much different---all of his belongings could have spilled out in some airport/airplane somewhere, things could have been stolen, OR we could have never seen the bags or items again.  So, we are acutely aware that the situation could have been worse.

What to do???  It was about 8:30 p.m.  I went to the Hilton's front desk to see if they had a solution, all I could think of was duct tape.  The hotel clerk, who used to work at American Airlines, told me there was a Walgreens about 2 blocks away, and that they sold duct tape.

I started walking to the drugstore when I thought, I do not have my phone, TK does not know what I am doing, I don’t know the area, it was dark, and I can’t even see this Walgreens. After walking a block and a half I started back to the hotel.

Despite being very weary after dinner, he went with me—and Walgreens had duct tape and Gorilla tape-we bought both, just before the store closed.  My hero...

Back at the hotel, after 13,000 steps or so this day, we were both tired, but I called the American Airline phone # the clerk gave me—someone answered! But she told me over six hours had passed since we arrived by plane. They could do nothing. She provided me an email to write to.

OK, Janie, you do not need to write every single detail.  By this time, it was 11 p.m. and we left the rest for Tuesday (today).

Today we woke up early to take care of the situation, our transport to the cruise terminal was scheduled for 11 a.m.  I wrote a detailed email to American Airlines “Central Baggage Specialist.”  I realize my English teaching skills are not helping me here, but I was sort of succinct in the email, included photos, and told them I was sure it wasn’t theft or vandalism because nothing was missing.

We could have been more artistic!

This morning, October 6, 2026

Imagine my surprise when the Central Baggage Specialist answered me!

Dear Mary,

Thanks for contacting our Central Baggage Resolution Office. We are sorry your bags were damaged when you traveled with us to Fort Lauderdale for your cruise.

We are unable to honor your claim because the damages reported are not covered as they are a result of normal wear and tear. Normal wear and tear includes, but is not limited to, protrusions that may be caught in the belt system such as tags, straps, pockets, handles, hooks, locks, and/or other attachments that can occur when the ordinary standard of expected care is exercised. Therefore, American Airlines isn’t able to assume liability for damages resulting from normal wear and tear.

For more information about liability limits, please read our Conditions of Carriage at:
https://www.aa.com/i18n/customer-service/support/conditions-of-carriage.jsp#baggageliability

Mary, we understand this was not the outcome you were hoping for, and despite that, we hope to see you onboard another American Airlines flight soon.
Sincerely,
Michelle B, Central Baggage Specialist
Case Owner ID: 23***

Well that’s that. I answered her that I was sure that Am Air would help us when we returned on November 25 to fly back to Erie. 

Dear Mary,

Thank you for your email reply.
The baggage wrapping services that you are referring to are not provided by airlines or airports, but by private companies.
Please rest assured, this experience is not typical of our usual performance. We look forward to rebuilding your confidence in our service and be assured we are all working hard to provide the high-quality service you expect when traveling on American Airlines.
Sincerely,
Michelle

Our experience was not typical!  I did find out there is a bag wrapping service at the FLL airport and will message them to make sure they can help!

It is 7:30 p.m. tonight (Tuesday) and our luggage has still not arrived in our stateroom.  I will really look strange wearing the same top and jean capris for 50 days without my 10 pounds of makeup and hair stuff. 

FIRST STOP: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA, AND THE WATERFRONT!

Monday, October 5, 2026
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Hilton Fort Lauderdale Marina
87F

We left the house by 4:45 a.m. this morning to be sure we caught our Erie flight to Fort Lauderdale at 6 a.m. (this time TK's rule). We had such easy flights to Charlotte, and then TK told me that he opted for first class from Charlotte to FLL because we got a better deal on all of our luggage.  I'm taking his word for that.  Anyway, after two smooth flights, we were settled in the Hilton on the waterfront by 2:30 p.m. 

The Hilton is a Water Taxi stop and we were off! First stop was Las Olas Boulevard and how that has changed. Great shops (TB, LP, and many more), but I spotted an Italian bakery, Pan'e Dolci Italian Bakery, and they had fresh made sfogiatelle!!  My very favorite pastry!!  Dessert first!

So many lovely homes

$10 million-$43 million +

Or maybe you would like a boat instead??

Janie at Pan'e Dolci Bakery

You know you are going to see

a photo of sfogiatelle.

What did we see while waiting for

the water taxi?

Our next stop was 15th St Fisheries 

for dinner--fried scrumptious 

fresh shrimp for me

and a lobster roll for TK

https://www.15streetfisheries.com/  

More homes on the waterfront

Hard to pick a favorite. New homes are

being built, more concrete to defeat

the hurricanes.

Views from our wrap around balcony---I am writing this blog in the dark to let TK rest. I am sure he has something to say about the day.  He was happy to see Dunkin' at the Charlotte Airport to help wake us up!

Tomorrow, Island Princess, here we come!!